News

Channel Island tax haven for sale at £15m

One of the eight inhabited Channel Islands is being offered for sale. The lease to Herm, a 1½ mile "paradise" isle with white beaches just three miles from Guernsey, can be bought for £15m.

Buyers could in effect have their own tax haven, paying 20% on income and avoiding death duties and capital gains, in common with other Channel Islands residents.

Neighbours would include Sir David Barclay and Sir Frederick Barclay, the billionaire owners of the Ritz Hotel and the Telegraph group who bought Brecqhou, a tiny island off Sark, in 1993 for £2.33m.

Herm is the first Channel Island to go on sale for years. The asking price for the 40-year lease includes a manor house, 13th century chapel, 80 acres of farmland complete with a dairy herd and what is thought to be the world's smallest jail.